Editor,

RE: 'Bus only' lane wreaks havoc with Highway 99 traffic

Cars, not buses wreak havoc with Highway 99 traffic.

Highway 99 actually sees 14 southbound buses per hour in that section 鈥� many more than the 4 that the previous letter writer claims. 26 buses if you put it in reverse, scooch back, and watch the exit of the Massey Tunnel.

 
Bus lanes are the most efficient way a road can be used to move people.

If you think congestion is bad now, imagine if everyone on those buses, in that bus lane, chose to drive instead because their bus became too slow. Bus lanes can entice people to ditch their car because they provide a fast and reliable trip, and every person that ditches their car for a seat on a bus saves incredible amounts of road space for those that do need to drive: workers whose job requires a vehicle, truckers, emergency vehicles, and yes, even those who could in theory take the bus, but aren鈥檛 yet lucky enough to have a viable transit option.

Buses move every one of those riders 鈥� up to 100 of them per bus 鈥� in a space that would otherwise be taken up by three vehicles, or, in this case probably zero because the bus lane is on the highway shoulder and would not be suited for general use.

Instead of grumbling and complaining as buses go by, maybe we should roll down our car window, stick our hand out, and give a kind salutation of 鈥淭hanks!鈥� as they race by saving us from even worse congestion.

Michael Hall, volunteer, Movement: Metro Vancouver Transit Riders